(a) This
Article VII is enacted to establish rules and requirements for the administration of aid to the indigent and dependent poor of the City and to adopt standards and conditions for such aid.
(b) The purpose of General Assistance is to provide short-term financial or in-kind assistance and other services to indigent residents of the City and County who are unable to support themselves and have exhausted their own means of support; and are not residents of state or private institutions. General Assistance is intended to enable and encourage persons aided to:
(1) Find employment if employable;
(2) Receive support from other federal or State sources; and
(3) Reduce or eliminate the conditions that have led to indigency and dependency.
(c) The purposes of the PAES Program are: (1) to provide quality evaluation of vocational experience, qualifications, strengths, and needs; and (2) to provide the participant with the supportive services and activities necessary to assist the participant in obtaining paid employment.
(d) The purpose of the CALM Program is to provide cash payments to those individuals who have been determined to be eligible for Medi-Cal, the State health care program, as set forth in California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 14000 et seq., on the basis of being aged, blind, or disabled, and who meet specific financial criteria, but who are not eligible for federal or State support.
(e) The purpose of the SSIP Program is to provide cash payments to those individuals with medical verification of a permanent disabling condition pending their application for federal disability benefits.
(f) The purpose of the Family General Relief Program is to provide assistance to indigent families with minor children who are ineligible for CalWORKs as a result of the application of the income deeming rule for sponsored noncitizens.
(g) Assistance is to be administered in a manner which is consistent with and will help achieve basic program purposes and which respects individual privacy and personal dignity. The following policies and principles govern the public social services:
(1) Assistance is to be administered promptly and humanely, without discrimination on account of race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, or political affiliation.
(2) Assistance is to be so administered as to encourage self-respect, self-reliance, and the desire to be a productive citizen.
(3) Assistance is to be administered with courtesy, consideration, and respect, and without attempting to elicit any unnecessary information.
(4) Duties should be performed in such a manner as to secure for every Applicant or Recipient the amount of aid to which he or she is entitled under the law.
(5) Duties should be performed in a manner that usefully assists all employable Recipients in seeking employment and all unemployable Recipients in obtaining other appropriate public benefits.
(6) There is to be no question, inquiry, or recommendation relating to the political or religious opinions or affiliations of any Applicant or Recipient.
(7) Assistance is to be administered in the most cost-effective manner possible.
(As Sec. 20.55.4, amended by Ord. 271-81, App. 5/21/81; Ord. 152-98, App. 5/8/98; redesignated as Sec. 20.7-4 and amended by Ord. , File No. 160636, App. 8/1/2016, Eff. 8/31/2016, Oper. 1/1/2017)
